Ed Sheeran Faces $20 Million Lawsuit Over ‘Photograph’

Ed Sheeran is being sued over his song “Photograph,” in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that alleges the English singer-songwriter of “verbatim, note-for-note copying” another song.

Songwriters Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard say that Sheeran’s 2014 hit is nearly identical to their 2009 song “Amazing,” which was released as a single by Matt Cardle, winner of the 2010 season of The X Factor, according to the Guardian.

“The chorus sections of Amazing and the infringing Photograph share 39 identical notes – meaning the notes are identical in pitch, rhythmic duration, and placement in the measure,” reads the lawsuit, which was filed in a Los Angeles federal court. “The similarity of words, vocal style, vocal melody, melody, and rhythm are clear indicators, among other things, that Photograph copies Amazing.”

The duo have hired attorney Richard Busch after he represented Marvin Gaye’s family in a landmark victory over “Blurred Lines,” the Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams hit. A jury found Thicke and Williams guilty of copying Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give it Up,” awarding his family nearly $7.4 million and set a precedent for legal disputes over song similarities.

Representatives for Sheeran could not immediately be reached for comment.